Cream of Asparagus Soup

Wow, Cara is right. Soup is very hard to photograph. Ignore my attempt to be classy with the creepy looking floating asparagus.

So yesterday, I discovered Google Reader. And one of the first things I saw pop up was this recipe. Which was awesome because I love asparagus, I had asparagus sitting in my fridge at home and I was looking to add another course to my anniversary meal.

I should let you all know that even though the actual recipe was really healthy, I did not go as healthy as I should have. So for the true low fat version, click here. For the just a little bit more fat version, keep reading.

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1-lb bunch fresh asparagus
Salt & pepper
2 tsp my version of Penzey's Greek seasoning (below)
2 cups chicken broth
12 oz low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup 1% milk

My version of Penzey's Greek seasoning (1 tsp of each):
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Lemon Juice

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and discard. Wash asparagus and chop into small pieces, about 1/4-1/2" in length.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. I put just enough to cover the bottom of my pot. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened and translucent. Add asparagus, salt & pepper, and Greek seasoning and stir to combine. Add chicken broth; this should be enough to just cover the vegetables in the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.

While that is simmering...Blend together the cottage cheese and milk in a blender or in a separate container using an immersion blender, until completely smooth (I used my blender). Set aside.

Remove the soup from heat and process until smooth, either using an immersion blender or by transferring to a food processor or blender (used the blender again). Return to medium-low heat and gently stir in cottage cheese mixture.

Bring to a boil, and cook for a few minutes to let it fully thicken. Lower back down to a simmer. The longer you let it simmer, the better it will be. I also ended up adding more salt at the end but not a lot. Just enough to our liking.

VERDICT:
This was my very first attempt at soup and I have to seriously pat myself on the back. This was so amazingly good! And so amazingly easy! That Greek seasoning mixture definitely brings all the flavors together and the creaminess was just right.

The only thing I would do differently next time (and there will be a next time) would probably be to pass it through a sieve before returning it to the heat. I found it was just a little, tiny bit grainy. Not enough to keep me from practically licking the bowl clean but just enough to make my OCD flare up.

Yes, I will definitely be making this again.

SOURCE:
Cara's Cravings